Forest Service to Increase Access to National Forests in California

News Release | September 18, 2020
Media Contact: Jonathan Groveman
(707) 562-8995 | jonathan.groveman@usda.gov
U.S. Forest Service | Pacific Southwest Region
1323 Club Drive Vallejo, CA 94591
Web: www.fs.usda.gov/r5

Forest Service to Increase Access to National Forests in California

VALLEJO, Calif. – The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region announces increased access to some National Forests in California beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2020.

The prohibition of the use of any ignition source on all National Forest System lands (campfires, gas stoves, etc.) throughout California remains in place.

Nine National Forests in California remain closed: Angeles NF, Cleveland NF, Los Padres NF, Inyo NF, Klamath NF, San Bernardino NF, Sequoia NF, Sierra NF, and Six Rivers NF. This decision will continue to be reviewed daily with evolving fire and weather conditions.

Nine other National Forests may open to varying degrees. Visitors should contact the following National Forests for more information on their status: Eldorado NF, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Lassen NF, Mendocino NF, Modoc NF, Plumas NF, Shasta-Trinity NF, Stanislaus NF, and the Tahoe NF. These forests will implement their own forest orders that will either limit dispersed use or provide for area closures around fires.

Conditions can change quickly. Therefore, we emphasize that all citizens heed local announcements for changes in conditions and potential evacuations."We understand how important access to the National Forests is to our visitors," said Randy Moore, Regional Forester for the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region. "Continued closures are essential based on extreme fire conditions, critical limitations of firefighting resources, and to provide for firefighter and public safety.”

Again, visitors are encouraged to contact their local National Forest for more information. We have developed a web map to help visitors find out which sites are open. Visit our online map at https://www.fs.fed.us/r5/webmaps/RecreationSiteStatus/

The Forest Service manages 18 National Forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses over 20 million acres across California, and assists State and Private forest landowners in California, Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. National forests supply 50 percent of the water in California and form the watershed of most major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R5.